Huanchaco and Surrounds

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After an arduous eight days trekking our next and one of our final stops in Peru, was Huanchaco which is a beach side suburb in Northern Peru. The plan here was that there was no plan (except Colm had to watch the Liverpool V´s Arsenal CL game) and we were going to do absolutely nothing. After eight days of walking in Huaraz our limbs were a bit tender. After getting picked up by another supposedly ¨reputable¨ taxi driver at the bus station we shared the cab with two Americans to the beach side suburb. The taxi driver lit a cigarette (which is the first time that´s happened in South America) and then talked us into going to one of his recommended hostels. After a brief argument we relented. Unfortunately that one was full so we told him to take us to the one we wanted to go to originally. He chose to ignore this information and took us to five other hostels instead. When we persisted and forced him to take us to the one we wanted to go to, he then asked for more money for all the extra stops he had to do. Colm politely told him to go and get bent. His efforts were then transferred to the hostel owner to try and get commission from him for taking us to this hostel. The hostel owner also politely told him to go and get bent.

We ended up in a hostel, overlooking the beach with a bath tub and swimming pool. This made me happy. It was slightly over budget, but after eight days in a tent and 6 months of traveling and not working we deserved it. Huanchacho is a nice enough beach suburb that is famous for its surfing. The beach life kind of reminded me of a beach in Oz, with alot of young virile males parading about with their surfboards.

The first day in Huanchaco we just wondered about doing nothing but the next day we visited Chan Chan, which is one of the largest Pre-Colombian cities in South America. It is a great big mud city and the largest adobe ruins of its kind. When the ruler dies, all his women, slaves and belongings are buried with him regardless of whether they are dead or not. Nice. The new ruler then builds a new palace.There were nine palaces in total. It´s pretty impressive. Feeling that we quite hadn´t seen enough ruins the next day we went to Huaca del Luna, which is another adobe ruin in a pyramid shape but inside there are coloured murals. This was done by the Moche people which are pre Incan and it served mainly as a religious and ceremonial place. It was here that we bumped into a couple that we had met in Bolivia and Cusco. It´s a small world.

After visiting all the ruins we left on another overnight bus journey to see more ruins. Next stop Chachapoyas, very north of Peru and home to the famous Kuelap ruins. I can´t wait to get back to Ireland to visit Glendalough.

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Photos

Plaza De Aramas - Trujillo
Easy to remember names as all the main plazas in Peru are called Plaza De Aramas

Chan Chan
A view of one of the nine palaces in Chan Chan